Preparing: Part 2 (Reflections)

Prior to having children, my husband and I talked of many aspects of starting a family, but we never thought to discuss the way in which our little family would navigate the larger world. Or even, how our home would provide peace and shelter away from life’s fast pace. At that time, we were still moving at such a fast pace...we couldn’t have known the questions to contemplate.


While pregnant for the first time, I was blessed to have discovered beautiful writings on mindfulness that opened my heart to a new understanding of parenting. I have carried with me an understanding that these days are fleeting and the ordinary moments, magical. Even so, as I think back to my daughter’s earliest years, I remember feeling pulled in two directions- a foot in my old life, still working outside the home, still moving fast, and the other foot searching for a soft place to rest with my baby.

It wasn’t until my second daughter was born, and I actually left my career behind, that I could find the softness I had been longing for. It was then that I read Kim John Payne’s book, Simplicity Parenting, and uncovered a truth deep inside myself. His words brought my own beliefs about the innocence of childhood clearly into focus, and I began to see myself differently, and to understand my purpose more deeply. A mother was more fully emerging.

Today, my husband and I talk regularly about the outside influences that impact our family life. As we organize our home, build friendships with other families, volunteer in the community, and otherwise venture beyond our little nucleus, we are continually looking at the changes that each decision brings. Most importantly, we’re becoming able to make adjustments when we notice that the pace or quality of our time together has been affected by something we have done. As confidence in our parenting grows, we find it is becoming easier to define the type of childhood we want to provide for our daughters, and to use our words and actions to establish boundaries which protect that precious time.